Kamakura’s Top 5 Hydrangea Spots | Get Out of Tokyo & See This City of Flowers
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A popular day-trip spot near Tokyo, Kamakura (and nearby Enoshima Island) is also where you'll find some of Japan's most beautiful hydrangeas, tucked away in the area's many temples and shrines.
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As summer draws near, you can feel the plants reaching towards the sun and putting out new leaves and blossoms. For lots of humans, the heat isn’t always welcome, but you can tell the plants are ready for the warmth and sunlight! So we might as well appreciate all the hard work they’re putting in.
In Japan, early summer means appreciating hydrangeas! The country is far more famous for its ubiquitous cherry blossom gardens, which blossom in spring and can be found drawing huge crowds all over the islands. But their flower admiration doesn’t end with those dainty pink petals; Japan’s beautiful hydrangea bushes also attract lots of attention, and one of the best spots for hydrangeas is Kamakura! We’ve mentioned before that you can charter a travel taxi to get you to the best flower viewing spots all over Kamakura and Enoshima Island, but no matter how you get there, it’s worth a trip!
① Hasedera Temple
This temple and its famed grounds are sprawled along a hillside that reaches far above the city of Kamakura, with panoramic views of the streets below. It’s a bit of a climb to get up all the stairs, but it’s worth the effort when you see what awaits in the temple gardens: more than 500 colorful hydrangea bushes in all shapes, sizes, and colors. The hydrangea garden is lined with narrow paths, and for a limited time at the peak of the season, it’s even lit up after dark.
Hasedera Temple (長谷寺)
3-11-2 Hase, Kamakura, Kanagawa
Hours: 8:00 – 17:00 | often extended during hydrangea season
Admission Fee: adults 400 yen / children 200 yen
Official Website (en)
② Meigetsuin Temple
Meigetsuin is almost less temple than garden, with more than 2,500 hydrangeas surrounding a maze of paths and staircases throughout the temple grounds. And the thousands of plants at Meigetsuin are known for one thing in particular: their color. Just about all of the hydrangeas in this temple garden are a brilliant blue, and they’ve been given the name hime-ajisai (ヒメアジサイ), literally “princess hydrangeas”!
Meigetsuin Temple (明月院)
189 Yamanouchi, Kamakura, Kanagawa
Hours: 9:00 – 16:00 | often extended during hydrangea season
Admission Fee: adults 500 yen / children 300 yen
③ Jojuin Temple
Jojuin has a history reaching back almost 800 years, but these days visitors tend to come for the flowers more than anything else. A long staircase reaches from the beaches of Kamakura up to the temple and up beyond, all lined with colorful hydrangeas. There’s no better place to snap a picture of the flowers in front of Kamakura’s white sand!
Jojuin Temple (成就院)
1-1-5 Gokurakuji, Kamakura, Kanagawa
Hours: 8:00 – 17:00
Official Website (jp)
④ Engakuji Temple
The places we’ve mentioned so far are all great for seeing spectacular floral displays, and are certainly worth a trip for anyone willing to put up with the crowds of people. If you’re not sure you want to deal with that level of crowding, though, you might be interested to hear about Engakuji Temple! This temple has beautiful hydrangeas, lovely old temple buildings and courtyards, and (importantly) plenty of space to move around in.
Engakuji Temple (円覚寺)
409 Yamanouchi, Kamakura, Kanagawa
Hours: 8:30 – 16:30
Admission Fee: adults 500 yen / children 200 yen
Official Website
⑤ Enoshima Shrine
Enoshima Shrine is popular throughout the year, thanks to its reputation for granting good luck, which stretches back to the days of samurai. To this day, visitors arrive to pray for health and (particularly) wealth, but in the summer they also come for the flowers! Admire the view of colorful hydrangeas as you climb all the way up the shrine’s many stairs.
Enoshima Shrine (江島神社)
2-3-8 Enoshima, Fujisawa, Kanagawa
Hours: 8:30 – 17:00
Official Website (jp)
Kamakura is known for being such a scenic area that it’s constantly used as a backdrop for momentous scenes in Japanese dramas, or as a setting for movies. It’s worth visiting year-round, but if you appreciate the beauty of bushes full of blooming flowers, then early summer is the time to go!
If you can’t resist the pull of all kinds of flower-viewing in Japan, or you happen to be here in another season, you can always go see cherry blossoms or curtains of hanging wisteria.
For more info and updates from Japan, check Japankuru for new articles, and don’t forget to follow us on X (Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook!
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HIROSHIMA
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Hiroshima Prefecture has everything, from world heritage sites to beautiful nature and delicious local cuisine, and it's either an hour and a half from Tokyo by plane, or four hours by train. Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima Island and the Atomic Bomb Dome, two Hiroshima UNESCO sites, are famous around the world, but in Japan it's also famous for food. Seafood from the Seto Inland Sea, especially oysters, Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki, and Setouchi lemons are all popular, and the natural scenery alone is worth seeing.
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SHIKOKU
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On the other side of the Seto Inland Sea opposite Japan’s main island, Shikoku (四国) is a region made up of four prefectures: Ehime, Kagawa, Kochi, and Tokushima. The area is famous for its udon (in Kagawa), and the beautiful Dogo Onsen hot springs (in Ehime).
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KAGAWA
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Kagawa Prefecture is on the northern part of the island of Shikoku, facing Japan's main island and the Seto Inland Sea. It's known for being the smallest prefecture in Japan, by area, but at the same time Kagawa is called the "Udon Prefecture" thanks to its famous sanuki udon. Aside from Kotohiragu Shrine and Ritsurin Garden, the prefecture's small islands are popular, and Kagawa is full of unique destinations, like Angel Road. They say that if you lay eyes on Zenigata Sunae, a huge Kagawa sand painting, you'll never have money troubles ever again.
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KYUSHU
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Located in the most southwestern part of Japan, Kyushu (九州) is an island of 7 prefectures: Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Oita, Miyazaki, and Kagoshima. The island's unique culture has been influenced by Chinese and Dutch trade, along with missionaries coming in through Nagasaki's port. Modern-day travelers love the lush natural scenery and fresh food, plus the natural hot springs found all throughout the area (thanks to volcanic activity)!
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FUKUOKA
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Fukuoka Prefecture has the highest population on the southern island of Kyushu, with two major cities: Fukuoka and Kitakyushu. Thanks to growing transportation networks, Fukuoka is more accessible than ever, and so are the many local attractions. On top of historical spots like Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine, travelers shouldn't miss Fukuoka's food scene, with motsu nabe (offal hotpot), mentaiko (spicy cod roe), and famous Hakata ramen―best eaten from a food stall in the Nakasu area of Hakata. Plus, it's full of all sorts of destinations for travelers, like trendy shopping centers, and the beautiful nature of Itoshima and Yanagawa.
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KAGOSHIMA
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Kagoshima Prefecture played a major role in Japan's modernization as a backdrop for famous historical figures like samurais Saigo Takamori and Okubo Toshimichi, who pushed Japan out of the Edo era and into the Meiji. Because of that, Sengan-en Garden is just one of many historical destinations, and when it comes to attractions Kagoshima has plenty: the active volcano of Sakurajima, popular hot springs Ibusuki Onsen and Kirishima Onsen, World Heritage Site Yakushima Island, even what Japan calls the "island closest to heaven," Amami Oshima. Kagoshima might be found on the very southernmost tip of the southern island of Kyushu, but there's plenty to see.
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OKINAWA
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The island chain of Okinawa (沖縄) makes up the southernmost tip of Japan, which is why it's also the most tropical area in the country. Thanks to a history of independence and totally distinct political and cultural events, Okinawa has a unique culture, and remnants of the Ryukyu Kingdom are still visible all over the islands. Food, language, traditional dress, it's all a little different! It's also said to be the birthplace of karate.
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